Williams D FEMC2007

British Columbia Central Coast planning project - managing clients and expectations

Doug Williams, Cortex Consultants Inc., Suite 2a - 1218 Langley Street, Victoria, BC, V8W 1W2, Canada, dwilliams@cortex.ca

Consultants must manage their client’s expectations if a modeling project is to be completed on time and on budget, and to the client’s satisfaction. To manage expectations, you must first understand where they come from-the project context or “big picture” and the client’s objectives for the project relative to this context-and how they are affected by project scope, schedule, budget, and structure. Managing expectations requires clear and constant communication about the project methods, status, flow of results, and quality and limitations of those results.

At Cortex, we try to structure projects to facilitate this communication; however, as consultants, we do not always have this opportunity. We have a variety of clients (public and private sectors, individuals and committees), each with their own characteristics and challenges. Project structure has a significant impact on the ease and success of managing expectations. The structure of the modeling project to support the Central Coast government-to-government negotiations posed significant challenges to its success. By comparison, the structure of more inherently complex projects, such as cumulative impact modeling of resource development on the Peace-Moberly tract and in the Klappan region, allowed for clear communications that led to greater client satisfaction.